hi

we are the same
been to olu twice may and october. very low key, no commercial food chains and loud bars. great.

we want to go back, but dont want to go to olu again, but wanted somewhere similar, quiet, no burger chains and karaoke bars and loud music, with nice quiet beach, and nice quiet R&R and stuff to do if you want it.

pref with a private beach and jetty!!!!!!!!
we wanted to go september.............8th???
if you have any ideas too pass on please.

Icmeler is very simmilar to Olu Deniz, Gumbet is more in your face with many night clubs and very hilly, However their are many places to go in the Gumbet region like Bodrum, Bitez, Turgetreis, and a few smaller places to visit, As your looking for Historical sites also I would be tempted to go to Bodrum but only for that reason.

having been to all these places, my least favourite was bodrum & gumbet. none of them come near the scenery of olu deniz or the lagoon area. icmeler is quite nice but the beach is shingly, but busier and more hassle but much nicer than gumbet, we have just come back from tugutreis which was fairly nice but the sea was very stoney, but there wasnt much hassle there and the town was small and compact. we hired a car and drove around the pennisular but preferred to turgutreis to bitez and yalikavak (sorry spelling) where we stopped on route. ive been going to turkey for over 26 years and find it hard to beat akyaka its so pretty, no loud bars, no burger chains, very turkish, lovely austrian style buildings, fab scenery, lovely beach, lovely riverside with restaurant. it does lack shopping if thats your thing. there is a jetty with boat trips so seems to have everything you want nemo, im sure people have recommended places to you on another thread nemo

any one know of good hotels in these areas then rather than SC would prefer hotel AI (dont have to bring much pocket money, only for a couple of meals out and some shopping).

i think if you want a not too touristy place thats very turkish without uk type bars, burger chains etc, then it will be tricky to find all incs, this 1 is hb and is nice

http://www.idymahotel.com/en/index.htm

Glad you enjoyed Olu sooze . Its our favourite destination . We have been to icmeler but didnt like it as much . its a much larger resort and the hassle we found was definately more intense .Having said that though we were A/I there and if you prefer the self catering it may be a good option as the resturants and bars are very geared up with family entertainment and the music has to go off at Midnight .

Nemo . We are trying the aegean dream resort (A/I) in Turgetreis this year . Karen (ellie meg) has just come back and I believe Turgetreis town is a short stroll away. It has a jetty too and is on the beach which I imagine would be private.

Side may also be worth a look snooze if you like your historical sights . bitez also seems to get good reviews.

cheers

thanks will have alook at that and keep in mind and compare.

think really just need to bite the bullit!!!!

Snooze,
I visited Icmeler 2 years ago and was not particularly impressed. Although it was commercial, I found it quieter than Marmaris which is 10 minutes down the road and very commercial. Ichmeler was quiet which I generally enjoy, however, I felt there was very little to do so we ended up in Marmaris due to lack of choice.

If you are looking for history, quirkyness etc, I would not recommend Ichmeler. We are 30ish too and going to Fethiye/Olu Deniz next week (first time) so hoping we will be much more impressed, given the reviews I have seen. All the best.

Hi Snooze...for other ideas check out these places..

Patara (Lycian: Pttara), later renamed Arsinoe was a flourishing maritime and commercial city on the south-west coast of Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey near the modern small town of GelemiÅŸ, in Antalya Province. It is the birth place of St. Nicholas, who lived most of his life in the nearby town of Myra (Demre).

KaÅŸ is a small fishing, yachting and tourist town, and a district of Antalya Province of Turkey, 168km west of the city of Antalya. As a tourist town it is relatively unspoiled.

Üçagiz/Kale - Close to Kas, Üçagiz is a tiny village on a cove with a sunken Roman city and an island (Kekova) with a Byzantine one.

And of course I always suggest Cirali...

I think it is best described in an article from the travel.timesonline.co.uk from last year..

4 CIRALI, TURKEY

Far from the package-holiday hordes, Turkey has dozens of pristine beaches, among the finest of which is Cirali, a long stretch of fine white sand at the mouth of a towering canyon. The beach, an easy walk from the ruined city of Olympos, is a protected nesting ground for loggerhead turtles. After dark, lights on the shore are extinguished so as not to confuse the hatching babies. On a moonless night, the view of the Milky Way is phenomenal.

You'll find no banana boats or disco bars at Cirali, just a perfect two-mile beach lapped by clear blue water, and walking trails that will take you into the drama of the surrounding coastal mountains.

And if you had a peak at my photos you will see the lovely mountains in my pages..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/sets/72157602793492234/

Also Here is a new article about Cirai from the travel section of the Zaman newspaper..have a read..

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=145582

what part of turkey is Çıralı

80km southwest from the city of Antalya and 100km from the Antalya airport....

hi there we thought dalyan was great, spent two weeks in olu loved every minute this year 3 weeks time going to chesme very few reports from brits so could be slghty more authentic turkey

reelspin do you mean cesme, if so ive been there, its a nice place small with a castle and gets a lot of rich turkish holiday makers, not as nice as akyaka though for scenery

Like you, our first Turkish holiday was Olu Deniz, which we absolutely loved. We returned a couple of years later and loved it again. On our third visit we decided like you we really must try somewhere different, and we chose Icmeler. We're just home from our 6th visit to Icmeler!
Before Turkey we had NEVER returned to a resort, and didnt think we ever would, but we're already thinking of next year in Icmeler!
Must say though, I DO have a hankering to go back to Olu, it was so lovely, so friendly. I'd like to see what changes have been made.
Due to family circumstances last year we had to cancel our Icmler holiday in June, and by the time we could go in September there were no flights to Dalaman, we ended up in Gumbet.
Didnt like it one bit. Yes, it had its good points, but for me, nothing at all like Icmeler or Olu.
When I think about it, its 'good point' was Bitez being next door!